A Slice of Normal
by Therm
Summary: Daryl finds a different kind of animal to the one he went hunting. Nothing deep, Daryl centric. Set after Season Two.


**Title**: A Slice of Normal  
**Summary:** Daryl finds a different kind of animal to the one he went hunting.  
**A/N:** _For my Twitter pal **Tansy**, because you're awesome. :)_

* * *

Daryl was crouched down checking tracks when he heard the sound behind him.

He turned carefully, making sure he didn't make a sound as he waited for whatever was behind him to make it's appearance. At worst, it'd be a walker or another survivor (the crazy type) but he suspected it was more likely to be an animal, the way it was move around and the noise was lower down. He moved his bow, ready to claim whatever came through the bushes, hoping that it would be something he could take back to the group.

To his surprise, what emerged from the bushes has a wet nose and started to wag it's tail when it saw him. He hadn't seen many dogs in a while now. Initially the strays in and around Atlanta had been plentiful but he guessed that it had got to the same point as it had with the humans left- only the strongest were making it this far. The dog seemed to check Daryl out, sniffing him and although the dog seemed okay, he was wary that it might be vicious. When the dog crept closer, still sniffing at him and then laid down by his feet, whining softly, he knew the animal wasn't going to attack.

He carefully put the cross bow to one side and held his hand out for the dog to sniff. Once he let it sniff him, he gently patted the dog The dog was a German Shepherd he could see it was slimmer than it should be. Times were hard for man and beast it seemed.

"I guess I can spare a squirrel," Daryl said, not liking the idea of the dog going hungry. He grabbed one of the squirrels he'd managed to bag and threw it down for the dog, which grabbed it immediately and ran back into the undergrowth with it.

Picking his crossbow back up, he headed back towards the prison. He knew that Rick hated him going out hunting still. The prison held enough food for them to live off of for some time but Daryl reasoned that it would last longer if they still ate fresh meat with it.  
He had a feeling Rick knew as well as he did that it was just an excuse so that he could get out of the prison and escape from the group for a while. Daryl had come along with from when he first simply existed with the group. He was a key member of the unit now, Rick trusted him and often sought him out for his opinions or to back up a decision he'd made. So Rick wasn't likely to deny Daryl the only thing he wanted, a small piece of freedom, a little bit of the life he had before.

He hadn't strayed too far away from the prison on this hunt and it didn't take him long to get back. It wasn't until he broke out of the woods that he was aware that he was being followed. He turned, seeing the dog had followed him. At his look, it crouched down, cowering slightly.

"Shouldn't have fed ya, huh?" As much as he knew he should try and shush the creature away, he didn't have the heart to, especially not with it cowering. He called it over and it came to him, slowly and nervously but it licked his hand when it got to him, tail wagging even though it still kept it's head and ears down. "I gotta take something back to camp, can't let you have all the meat, but 'm sure we'll find somethin' for ya back there." He got up from petting the dog and started back towards the prison, encouraging the dog to follow.

* * *

Glenn raised quizzical eyebrows at him when he let him back inside.

"Aren't you supposed to bring back dead animals?" Glenn quipped.

"Jus' 'cause you eat dog don't mean I'm about to start," Daryl retorted. He looked at the stray that was nervously wagging it's tail, unsure of the new place Daryl had bought it.

"It's not gonna bite me, is it?" Glenn asked.

"Depends if you wanna put it into a chow mein."

Glenn let the dog lick his hand, ignoring the comment Daryl made and once the dog relaxed a little, he scratched it's ears, which the dog seemed to like."I hope nobody has an allergies," Glenn said.

"Hell, if they do this place is big enough that they can move away, not like we're sharing a house," Daryl said.

Daryl went inside the prison and left the dog with Glenn. He took the squirrels to the kitchen and skinned them so that Carol and Lori could cook the meat. He told them about the dog and to keep any of the parts that they couldn't eat for the dog.

It wasn't until later when they all ate dinner that he saw the dog again. It seemed like everyone loved having a dog there and he wasn't alone in feeding the dogs scrapes under the table.

* * *

Whoever was on watch usually kept the dog with them seeing as it meant the dog wasn't shut inside and had access to do it's business.  
Daryl found the dog to be a great assistant as it picked up the slightest noises and usually alerted them to any walkers long before he would spot it in the darkness of the night.

He realised it became 'his dog' when he went to bed after one of the shifts and the dog went with him. T Dog was pretty pissed as the dog was one of the highlights of living in a prison. He'd been on the last night shift and so he was going to sleep just as everyone else was getting up.

He lay in the cell he'd picked as his room, the dog laying beside his cot when he was aware that there was someone else in the room, beside the dog.

He wasn't concerned though. He was locked in a prison with people he trusted so whoever it was, had clearly come to see the dog. He heard the dogs breathing change like it did whenever you rubbed it's ears. It sounded like one long exhale of breath.

"What's his name?"

Carl Grimes. He should have known. No one but a kid would come into his room while he was trying to sleep.

Daryl was laying on his side away from the door and rolled onto his back, looking at the kid as he sat by the dog. "Ain't got one," Daryl replied.

"He's gotta have a name."

"Dog."

"That's not a name," Carl frowned, looking at the dog.

"It's the best I'm gonna do," Daryl supplied.

"Carl!" Lori chided as she came to the door of Daryl cell. "What are you doing in here? Get out right now!"

"But Mom..." Carl pleaded.

"Now, Carl. Come on, Daryl's trying to sleep," she remarked as the boy got up from beside the dog. "I'm sorry," she apologised to Daryl.

He watched as Lori stepped away and Carl sadly walked away from the room and the dog, clearly not wanting to.

"Hey kid, if you wanna feed her, she'd be more than happy to go with you," Daryl suggested, the dogs ears pricking up at the familiar word.

Carl's face lit up and he nodded. "Sure I'll feed... wait, it's a girl?"

Daryl nodded.

"You really can't call a girl Dog then,"

"Could be called worse," Daryl muttered.

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Why don't you er, think of a name for her then,"

"Okay," Carl beamed. "C'mon girl," he said beckoning the dog "Dinner time."

Carl disappeared from sight and Lori poked her head back round the corner, smiling at him. "Thank you. You just made his day,"

Daryl turned away from her, "Anything for a little shut eye," he complained gruffly.

But they both knew it was just a cover. Daryl started to think his reputation for being a bad ass wasn't quite as good as it once was.

He could live with that though.


End file.
